Having a c-section even if it is a planned one can be confusing and scary. If your doctor has told you that you will need one prior to going in to delivery your baby, this is great cause it will give you time to prepare for this. Being prepared is a key factor in having a memorable delivery.
Most mothers spend the first part of their pregnancy looking forward to the day that they get to meet their little bundles. They begin to prepare for the birth of the baby only to find out later that what they wanted was no longer a factor because they need a c-section.
This use to be the case years ago but it is not the case now. No you will not get to choose the position that you birth your baby in. Nor will you get a say in whether to be medicated or not. But you still get to have some say in the delivery of your baby. So here is some advice from a mother who has had 3 c-sections, two scheduled and one emergency c-section. My last baby came a couple days before the scheduled in c-section but it was still considered a non-emergency so my birth plan was put into affect.
One choice that mothers facing a scheduled c-section get to have is whether to be awake or asleep during the delivery of their baby. Most times your doctor will push you to be awake for a non-emergency c-section. Remember when talking with your doctor that this is your choice to make and not his or the hospitals. If you want to be asleep and your doctor or the hospital is saying that policy forbids it for non-emergencies then find a different doctor or hospital. Reason being is this is your choice and this is your delivery. Just because it has to be done a different way does not mean that your wishes can be ignored.
If you are doing this awake the types of medication used don’t give you many choices. The most common used thing is a spinal block. A spinal block is administered much in the same way as an epidural only no catheter is left in you. Also a spinal block wears off in an hour making the time that you feel paralyzed a very short one. This is why for the most part a spinal block is used for a c-section instead of an epidural.
Who you want to have in the room is another choice you get to make. You can pick one person that you really want in there with you. Now this person has to stay where the doctor tells them and not reach over the protective curtain. So this person is limited to standing by your side up by your head for this procedure. They are kept on that side of the protective curtain to reduce the risk of you getting an infection. I had my husband at the time in the room for my first two sons’ births. For my last son I had my stepmother in there with me.
Depending on the hospital that you deliver at your birthing partner may be allowed to cut the cord. This one is really on hospital policy. My first two sons’ births, which were at different hospitals allowed for my husband at the time to cut the boys’ cord. My last baby the doctor would not allow any non-medical personnel to cut the cord.
You can request that music be played softly while your baby is being born, just like you could if you were having a vaginal delivery. Most hospitals will allow this as long as the radio is being provided by the hospital for infectious reasons.
One thing that I have done was request during one of my sons’ births that they lower the protective curtains so that I could watch my baby be born. They will do this once it is time to remove the baby and the entire cutting is done. Don’t worry about seeing a whole bunch of blood or any gory sites because you won’t. You are packed very well by white towels and such that all you will see is the doctors reaching down then up comes your new baby.
Talk these things over with your doctor. I have found that doctors if you know what you do and do not want they are willing to accommodate you. One thing I did that the hospitals hated was get my doctors permission to have my catheter taken out hours after the birth of my sons. Reason being is hospital policy usually states that they remain in for 24 hours. But your doctor can over ride this policy along with most policies if they really want to.
Talk frankly with your doctor and tell him or her that this is what you want and these are things that you will not bend on and these are things that you can compromise on. This is after all the birth of your baby and it should be a wonderful experience no matter how you have to birth your child. Make sure that prior to the birth of your child that you have a birthing plan on file with the hospital and your doctor that is specific for a c-section. This will help to keep down the risk of confusion the day that your deliver.
